When there is life, there is death. As trees are born and some will die, people will eventually follow suit to complete the cycle. Although cruel, it is also natural for everything to become one with the dirt beneath them. To some, such a thing cann...
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October 3rd, 2036
10:00 AM
As the rain poured outside of the large, half-burned-down building, the inside of the building was quiet. All that echoed was the sound of the rain dripping softly onto the floor below. In a nearby room, the older form of Grande sat on an old bed. As he took a deep breath, everything sounded raspy and he quickly started to cough. His bloodshot eyes had deep bags underneath them, he was obviously exhausted. His right hand twitched and reached down to pick up something from the floor that he had dropped.
"Perform for us, it's been too long." A voice echoed in his head. He didn't even bother to react, he only balled up his right hand around a peridot necklace, one that he had given Melanie when they first started dating. He closed his eyes tight and shook his head, he hadn't felt too well the last few months, at all. His nausea had increased to an alarming rate and his body mass went down significantly. Something just felt wrong inside of him, he was very aware of such a thing. At first, he believed it was the flu, but after a while, it became more obvious what it was.
"I understand now, Melanie." Grande's voice sounded just as raspy as his breathing. He slowly brought the necklace to his chest.
"I understand the pain of it all." He continued, though his voice was starting to sound shakier. Grande's entire face started to turn red as his eyes filled with tears. His teeth slowly started to show as his face scrunched up.
"I think I'm soon to join you, my dove. I can barely stay awake now, I can't eat, I can barely function." He said. It was hard for him to speak so bluntly like this, but he had to be truthful. There are no more lies to be told, not for him at least. As he stood shakily up from his bed, he moved his left hand over to grab a cane. Pain coursed through his body as he straightened himself up.
"I'm going to come and see you, I'll be there for you like I have been, I promise." He whispered, then started to slowly move his way from the room. Once he stepped outside, the rain greeted him with little mercy. Trees shifted all around him and the dirt squished under his shoes as he carefully maneuvered his way through the debris of the building. Every step that he took, he could feel himself growing weaker. His legs started to shake and as soon as he went past the gate, he collapsed into the mud. His face slapped against the muck and he emitted a frustrated growl. He slammed his left hand into the mud, all the while his right still had the peridot necklace still in it. He grabbed his cane to help push himself up and continued on his journey. He knew where he had to go, he knew where he had to rest. Thunder roared in the sky even as he ventured from the forest into the more open area of the road.
"Melanie..." He was getting close to his destination, though what only took him a few minutes in the past would take him much longer now. Every bone in his body was basically aching at this point, all without a single second of mercy. He winced, and winced, then had to stop to breathe.
"No, don't leave us!" A voice yelled inside of his head. He once again chose to ignore it, the voices were in the past, the future always does come, even when others beg it not to. Nobody can deny the future, even if they believe that they can.
"I'm sorry, my audience, I cannot perform, not anymore." He whispered out, the voices went silent for him, giving him a sense of relief. It was the truth, he couldn't do it anymore, not even if he wanted to. He stumbled along the road and could feel a faint smile forming on his face as the two stone pillars finally started to appear in the rain, he finally made it to his destination. The old cemetery had been abandoned for a very long time, nobody ever visited anymore except for him. He looked over and spotted a white flower blooming among others, each together peacefully, thriving. He stared for a moment and formed a soft smile, using his right hand to not only hold the peridot necklace but to also grab one of those beautiful flowers. The flower bent upwards in his hand, swaying slightly in the breeze as rain landed on it. A single raindrop fell from a petal and Grande held it close to him as he ventured deeper into the graveyard.
"I'm almost there, my dove." He announced, yelling out to nature as if it were to speak back to him. The gravestones all were covered in moss, disgusting and unkempt, all except for one. On the far center of the graveyard, a white tombstone seemed to outmatch all the others in its beauty. The closer that Grande got to it, the weaker he started to get.
"I brought you another flower, I'm sorry that I didn't come the last few days." He apologized as he walked closer to the grave. He lifted his right hand, allowing the necklace to dangle downwards and the flower to sway. He could feel warmth forming in his eyes again, especially as he collapsed right in front of the grave. The cane landed directly into the mud, but the necklace and flower remained grasped in his hand. He continued to talk, even though he was on his side. He scooted himself closer towards the tombstone so he was leaning against it. He brought the necklace and flower up to his chest and placed them on the ground, right next to the old flowers. He released a cough and adjusted his body the best that he could.
"I also wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything that I had done. I should have listened to you, to Ricky, just so none of this shit ever happened. I messed up, so much-" He slowly stopped himself from speaking from his cracking voice. He formed a large, broken smile and felt tears go down his cheek, combining with the rain as he took a moment to recover.
"I don't deserve any of it, but I hope to see your beautiful face again. Nothing would make me happier than to hold you in my arms again. Please, forgive me, forgive me for everything that I've done!" He cried, all the while holding himself close as can be to the grave. His tears only grew as he felt his body beginning to go numb as if he was fading away. A smile remained on his face as he cried even so. His lips only twitched as the world slowed down around him.
"Grande." He heard a soft voice echo, a female's voice that was soothing to his ears, familiar even. Grande's eyes widened at the voice, but then slowly started to close as two warm hands touched his face. His eyes went still and his breathing started to slowly become quiet.
"Melanie?" He asked, though his lips could barely move. He could feel himself beginning to fade as if he was floating on air.
"You can rest now, Grande. Don't be afraid." Melanie's voice echoed, but then started to sound closer to Grande as if she was right next to his ear. Grande's eyes slowly started to close.
"Can we rest together now, Melanie?" He asked with a whisper. His eyes opened, but all he could see was his body on the ground below next to the tombstone. Two arms wrapped around his form as the black-haired female held onto him. She leaned in and hugged him tightly, but two more arms appeared and held onto Grande as well, making him smile more as his body started to get smaller below him.
"Yes, the pain is over, let's all rest together again," Melanie said soothingly, bringing her fingers through Grande's brown hair. Grande's eyes glanced down at the clouds, he was now unable to see his own body. The two other arms hugged him tightly.
"It's good to have you back, my friend." Ricky softly whispered. Grande's eyes started to close again, especially as his world became nothing but white.
